
Contents
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The Problem of Political Obligation The Problem of Political Obligation
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Locke’s Two Frameworks: Juridical and Historical Locke’s Two Frameworks: Juridical and Historical
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Hume’s Alternative Hume’s Alternative
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Utility and Authority Utility and Authority
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Opinion and the Role of Philosophy Opinion and the Role of Philosophy
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Three The State without Sovereignty
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Published:February 2018
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Abstract
This chapter examines how David Hume developed a thoroughly anti-Hobbesian theory of politics, culminating in a theory of the state without sovereignty. Hume does not explain political obligation in terms of what rulers are justified in expecting from the ruled, by virtue of the particular kind of relationship they stand in toward them as rulers. Instead, his focus is upon the ruled themselves—the bearers of the “opinion of mankind”—and the psychological processes by which they see themselves as bound by the authority of their superiors, whom they always outnumber but nevertheless tend to obey. The chapter first considers Hobbes's ambiguity in addressing political obligation at its limit before discussing the foundations of John Locke's theory of authority and Hume's alternative view. It also analyzes Hume's arguments about the relationship between utility and authority, along with the role of philosophy in the opinion of mankind.
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